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Hashim Amla at a training session, photo by Yellow Monkey

Top 10 Facts about Hashim Amla

Hashim Mahomed Amla is a South African former international cricketer.  He was born 1983 in Durban. Amla is a devout Muslim.

He was raised in a middle-class home and sent to the highly regarded Durban High School. It is also the alma mater of Lance Klusener and Barry Richards.

His elder brother, Ahmed Amla, was also a professional cricketer. Ahmed made his debut two years earlier than Hashim and they played together for a time at the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins.  Amla married Sumaiyah and they have two children.

He played for South Africa in all three formats of the game. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 ODI runs. He also became the fastest cricketer to reach 10 ODI centuries. Amla is an occasional off break bowler, and was South Africa’s Test captain from June 2014 to January 2016.

In 2019  Hashim was named in the south Africa’s Squad for the 2019 cricket world cup. The match was against New Zealand. Hence becoming the second- fastest batsman in terms of inning . 

He has scored 8000runs in ODIS doing in his 176th inning. Amla announced his playing retirement from all forms of international Cricket in August 2019.

Here are Top 10 Facts About Hashim Amla;

1.Hashim Amla is a right hand batsman

Hashim Amla reaches 300 Photo by Hugh Chevallier

Alma  is a right-handed batsman. He holds the record for the highest individual Test score of any South African batsman of 311 not out. Hashim scored against England at The Oval, London in July 2012.

2.He holds a record of being the fastest cricketer 

Hashim became the fastest cricketer to score 15, 16, 17, 18 and 20 centuries in One Day International (ODI) Cricket. By  doing so in 86, 94, 98, 102 and 108 innings respectively.

He  also became the fastest player to score 7,000 runs in ODIs. On 3 June 2017, he became the fastest cricketer to reach 25 ODI centuries. On 19 January 2018, Amla broke Virat Kohli’s record for being the fastest cricketer to reach 27 centuries in ODI cricket. Amla has reached the milestone in 167 innings, surpassing Kohli’s 169.

3. Hashim was named the Wisden cricketers of the year

Hashim Amla – South African Cricket, photo by Naparazzi

He has scored ODI centuries against all Test playing countries and is only the fourth person to do so. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2013. In 2017, he scored 2 centuries in the Indian Premier League, playing for Kings XI Punjab.

4.Alma was  the first South African of Indian descent to represent South Africa in international cricket at a young age

 After he was appointed captain of the Dolphins, Amla began the 2004–2005 South African domestic season by scoring four centuries during his first eight innings.

  His success at the domestic level and consistent performances for the South Africa. A squad led to him being chosen for the winter 2004 tour of Africa at the age of 21. Hence  becoming the first South African of Indian descent to represent South Africa in international cricket.

5. He has played county cricket for four different teams

Hashim Amla batting on the third day of the SCG Test between Australia and South Africa. Photo from

 Amla played county cricket for four different teams. For Essex in 2009, Nottinghamshire in 2010, Surrey in 2013 and Derbyshire in 2015.

Amla has played in Caribbean Premier League and Mzansi Super League as well. In CPL, he played 11 matches and scored 410 runs. He played for Durban Heat in the maiden edition of the Mzansi Super League.

6. Hashim Amla was picked by the Kings XI Punjab for the  season of the IPL

Hashim Amla was picked by the Kings XI Punjab for the 2016 season of the IPL. Amla went on to become an integral part of the team and even scored two centuries in the IPL during 2016 and 2017. Despite his good performance, he was not picked by any franchise in the auction for IPL 2018.

7.   Hashim Alma received a title of  the World ODI XI by the ICC.

Hashim Amla at a training session, photo by Yellow Monkey

 In 2008 Amla made his ODI debut against Bangladesh cricket team. In 2010, he was part of the team touring West Indies for the 5 match ODI series. He scored two centuries and a half-century in the series. 

The same year, he scored two centuries in the ODI series against Zimbabwe and a century against Pakistan as well. In 2012, he scored 150 from 124 balls against England in Southampton. Amla continued his good form in 2013 and was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC.

8. He was selected for world cup squad

In 2015, he was selected for the World Cup squad. Amla scored a century in the World Cup but other than that, his performance was not very impressive. Although he did perform well in 2015 after the World Cup and was named in World ODI XI by ICC. 

2016 and 2017 were good years for Amla but his form took a dip in 2018. Amla was named in the 2019 Cricket World Cup squad. During the tournament, he went on to score 8000 runs in ODI.

9.Hashim Amla became the first South African to score a triple century in Test cricket

Hashim Amla batting on the third day of the SCG Test between Australia and South Africa. Photo from

In 2012, Hashim Amla became the first South African to score a triple century in Test cricket in the first Test of South Africa’s tour of England. He ascended to the top of the ICC Test rankings after scoring a century in the second Test.

In the following series against Australia, he scored centuries at the Gabba and the WACA. He was named in the World Test XI for 2012.

10. Alma started playing cricket in his provincial team

Hashim Amla started playing cricket when he made his debut for his provincial team the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins and was soon appointed the captain of the team.

Amla was the captain of the national Under-19 side in the 2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in New Zealand. South Africa cricket team ended the tournament as the runners-up. In 2013, Amla moved to Cape Cobras from KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins.